Retribution in the Mountains by Jodie Bailey

Retribution in the Mountains
by Jodie Bailey

ISBN-13: 9781335957726
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Released: April 28, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
When a planted bomb detonates in her car, former army investigator Melanie Shaw knows that her witness protection cover has been compromised. Suspecting that this was an inside job, she turns to the only person she can trust: her former love, Elliott Weiss--the man she once mistakenly accused of a crime. Despite their rocky history, Elliott agrees to help her, especially when it becomes clear there’s a target on his back too. But when secrets from the past are exposed and an old enemy reappears bent on revenge, one wrong move could be their last.


My Review:
Retribution in the Mountains is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the 4th book in the series, but it can be read as a stand alone. Melanie went undercover as an investigator in Elliott's army unit after he reported accounting discrepancies. Everyone's a suspect, including Elliott since all the evidence pointed at him. Having gotten to know and care for him, she kept searching until she uncovered the true criminal. But she's now hunted by the group the criminal was a part of. When her witness protection is blown, she not sure whom to trust but heads for the man she still loves.

Due to the investigation being confidential, Elliott didn't know why the woman he loved just disappeared after he was accused. He believed the worst of Melanie. If the assassins weren't targeting him, too, he'd be reluctant to get involved with her again. While she still couldn't tell him the truth, he began to realize he's made some wrong assumptions. Despite this huge hurt between them, they worked well together. The main characters were likable and reacted realistically to events.

Melanie learned what becoming a new person in Christ is like because she had to become a new person in witness protection. Elliott fought to be in control and not need any help, but circumstances made him physically vulnerable when he wanted to be enough protection for Melanie. He had to ask for help--first, in prayer to God, and then from his investigative team. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable romantic suspense.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Lumber Baron's Wife by Lynn Austin

The Lumber Baron's Wife
by Lynn Austin

ISBN-13: 9781496476388
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
Released: April 14, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
1873. After a devastating loss, Hannah Wagner never imagined she’d leave her comfortable home for the harsh, unfamiliar wilderness near Lake Michigan. But when Henry Abernathy, a friend of her husband, John, offers them a fresh start in a booming lumber town, where John’s skills as a doctor are sorely needed, Hannah reluctantly agrees. There, she meets Kate Abernathy, Henry’s spirited, much younger wife. Kate’s sharp tongue and outsider status have made her unwelcome among the town’s elite, and when she begins confiding in Hannah, it’s clear her marriage is not what it seems and that a secret from her past could destroy everything.

Present day. Ashley Gilbert never planned to settle in Michigan, but when her husband lands his dream job as a conservationist, she agrees to follow. While restoring their historic home—built in the 19th-century for a doctor and his wife—Ashley becomes captivated by its past and its connection to the nearby Abernathy mansion, now being transformed into a museum. While volunteering with the restoration, she stumbles upon the unsolved mystery of Kate Abernathy’s disappearance.


My Review:
The Lumber Baron's Wife is a split-time Christian fiction. In present day, Ashley moved so that her husband could have his dream job but lost her dream job in the process. The move highlighted all of the differences between Ashley and her husband, like she wanted to buy the well-kept 150-year-old house and he wanted a brand new build. When Ashley got pregnant, her husband pressured her to get an abortion because finances were tight and he didn't want kids yet. Even though they knew a couple who wanted to adopt a baby, the conflict was framed as: have an abortion or raise the baby themselves. Though likable, the two had such different interests that I wondered why they even got married.

In 1873-1875, Hannah's 3 young children died when their doctor father unintentionally exposed them to diphtheria. Afterward, few people wanted him as a doctor since he couldn't save his own children. (The death toll from diphtheria is higher in young children and in crowded, unsanitary, and malnourished situations. About 9 out of 100 symptomatic cases were fatal, and the bad epidemic in 1878 in Geneva had a mortality rate of 1.9 out of every 10 cases. So it would be disturbing that a well-to-do doctor lost all 3 of his children.) A lumber-baron friend asked the doctor to relocate to a booming lumber town, and they accepted to get a fresh start. Hannah's forced by events to get more involved with life again, including befriending the lumber baron's young, wild wife, Kate.

We get Kate's diary and so see how she struggled with becoming a 'proper' wealthy wife and her disbelief that God would just forgive her if she asked. She tried to earn His forgiveness. She recorded what happened to her in the diary, so Ashley's solving of the mystery was a matter of finding the diary.

The characters were complex, realistic people. Vivid historical and setting details were woven into the story, creating a distinct sense of the time and place. Hannah had to deal with her anger at God. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

When the Wolves Are Silent by C. S. Harris

When the Wolves Are Silent
by C. S. Harris

ISBN-13: 9780593953891
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: April 14, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
London, 1816: When a notorious young aristocrat is burned alive on a windswept hill popular with neo-Druids, former cavalry officer Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, finds himself plunged into a murder investigation shadowed by tales of ancient human sacrifices and long-buried secrets.

The victim, Marcus Toole, was the only son and heir of a prominent nobleman. His closest friend—Sebastian’s own nephew, Bayard—claims to have passed out drunk before the attack and remembers nothing. But when Sebastian and his brilliant wife, Hero, delve deeper into the sordid activities of Bayard and his friends, they come to realize that Bayard may not be as innocent as he pretends. Following a tangled trail that leads from a disaffected former soldier-turned-highwayman to a courageous journalist and a Jamaican-born fencing master with ties to a radical political movement, Sebastian begins to suspect that Bayard and his friends are being targeting in revenge, by victims who believe they have no other recourse.

Then two more of Bayard’s friends are killed, their murders staged to echo the ritual sacrifices of the ancient Celts. With the palace shaken by the fear of riots and one horrifying death following another, Sebastian must race to stop a ruthless plot that threatens the lives of innocents and could rip his troubled nation apart.


My Review:
When the Wolves Are Silent is a mystery set in 1816 in London. This book is the 21th in a series, but you can understand it without having read the previous novels. Interesting historical information was woven into the story without slowing the pacing. Vivid details created a distinct feeling of that specific time and place and helped bring the story alive in my imagination.

The characters were interesting, complex, and acted in realistic ways. Sebastian questioned suspects and witnesses, and Hero also helped gather information by questioning some people. Sebastian tracked down leads, coming up with a lot of potential motives before finally narrowing things down. However, I'm still not quite sure how Sebastian became so certain of whodunit, but he promptly acted to save the next victim even as they're attacked, which rather confirmed it.

There were no sex scenes. There was a fair amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Manhattan Confessions by Jocelyn Green

The Manhattan Confessions
by Jocelyn Green

ISBN-13: 9780764239656
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Released: April 7, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Ivy Malone, the New-York Historical Society's librarian, is dedicated to preserving Manhattan's rich history, but when society grand dame Adeline King anonymously reveals her shocking life story, Ivy finds herself holding a highly coveted secret. Burdened with the responsibility of keeping Adeline's identity hidden, Ivy finds the matter increasingly complicated when two men claim ties to the elderly woman--one of them accusing Adeline of involvement in a crime.

Another dilemma brews when Ivy's cousin, Gina, is detained at Ellis Island for lack of proper documentation. Hoping an immigration service can resolve the misunderstanding, Ivy employs their help but is instead thrust into a dangerous world. With time running out, she must unravel the tangle of secrets that bind Adeline's past, Gina's freedom, and her own safety. How far is she willing to go to protect those she loves?


My Review:
The Manhattan Confessions is a Christian romance set in 1926 in New York City. It's the 3rd in a series but works as a stand-alone. Ivy lost her family when she was young, so she idealized family and was constantly looking for people to fill that void and provide her with an assurance she won't be abandoned again. Tom was dealing with lasting trauma from his war experiences. Tom protected Ivy against danger. Ivy's drawn to Tom's kindness toward others. Ivy and Tom built each other up and supported each other.

The main characters were well-developed and engaging. Interesting historical details were woven into the story, mostly about how some people were taking advantage of poor immigrants. I anticipated some of the "twists" but enjoyed the story. I was disappointed by the ending, though: Ivy's told by her friends that doing something sounded like a bad idea but she did it anyway, then she realized the "lure" wasn't genuine and she might now be vulnerable to the bad guys, yet she STILL decided to go off by herself to a dark area (where the bad guy had been waiting for some time). It felt forced: make the heroine act foolishly so the hero could come to her rescue! Then, in the epilogue, we have very pregnant (about to give birth) women skating! Why make heroines randomly throw all sense out the window? (My mother lost a baby due to a short fall, so maybe I'm extra sensitive about this.)

By the end of the story, Ivy realized that God was what she was looking for in human family. He'll never leave her. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.